Lower Silesia, Poland

Lower Silesian [Dolny Śląsk] Voivodeship (LSV) is one of the 16 voivodeships (provinces) into which Poland is currently divided; it is situated in the southwest of Poland. Its capital and largest city is Wrocław, located at the Odra (Oder) river. Lower Silesia covers an area of 19,946 km2, and as of 2013 has a total population of almost 3 million

Healthcare system

In Poland, the Ministry of Health is in charge of policies and regulations regarding the healthcare system, as well as of medical reaserch and education. The National Health Fund (NFZ) finances primary and secondary health care services and it supported by its regional branches. Healthcare insurance in Poland is compulsory and state funded, available to all citizens and registered long-term residents. The main insurance contributions come from employers and employees, pooled by the NFZ and redistributed across 16 regions. The government budget finances public health services like expensive medicines and specialised tertiary care. Lower levels of territorial administration and self-government are responsible for the general strategy and planning based on health needs of the population in the given region.

eHealth maturity

Information technologies have caused major changes in the Polish health care system. Currently, the digital economy is driven by new ICT tools, which offer hospitals, doctors and patients access to information. These tools encourage the development of new activities and health services. eHealth contributes to the understanding of change in the Polish health care system.

CareWell services

Patient empowerment & home support pathway

An Educational Platform can be accessed by patients and carers through authentication via Smartphone application. The information on the platform consists of educational material about chronic conditions meant to help patients manage their situation better, as well as specific information targeting informal carers.

The telemonitoring platform is based on mobile devices for telemonitoring stable and unstable outpatients. A call centre worker monitors the patients’ medical parameters and contacts a doctor or nurse when a patient’s health status is exacerbated. The doctors or nurses will then evaluate the patient’s medical parameters, determine the cause and act on the results. Patients can be reached by the call centre worker via an Android video application.

Integrated care coordination pathway

The Electronic Case Report (ECR) is a report which specialists fill when discharging a patient. It has been incorporated into the Hospital Information System and provides an improved communication mechanism between clinicians, enhancing care co-ordination. Patients will be in the future referred for telemonitoring based on their Electronic Case Report.

The Integration platform for telemonitoring procedures coordinates telemonitoring data.Clinicians from both primary and secondary care will be able to coordinate their efforts through videoconferencing.

For more details about the Lower Silesian pilot, download the factsheet.